Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Alex Newton's Top 50 of 2013

1. The Ocean – Pelagial

In the wake of The Ocean’s polarizing duo Heliocentric and Anthropocentric, their next album was bound to be a make-or-break affair. With Pelagial, however, those fears about the Ocean’s future can finally be laid to rest. Based around the very cool concept of descending through the ocean, Pelagial feels more natural than anything else by the new lineup. Songwriter and guitarist Robin Staps’ original idea was to start with a clean, ambient “surface” feel and move steadily towards a “distorted and abrasive sound for the doomy depth-passages at the end of the album”. Indeed, the serene major-chord piano of “Epipelagic” sets a tone unlike anything in The Ocean’s catalogue, despite seascape sounds that otherwise whisper of Fluxion’s opener, “Nazca”.Pelagial is intended to be a journey experienced in a complete listen, and as far as concept albums go, The Ocean have largely hit the nail on the head. Fans who are new to the band will find the album’s creative breadth intriguing, while long-time followers should be satisfied by the return of Staps’ ace songwriting chops and singer Loic Rossetti’s continued improvement in all areas. After six years of reassuring ourselves that Staps is still the guy who wrote Fluxion and Precambrian, The Ocean’s overhaul is finally paying dividends. Pelagial has the reconfigured band firing on all cylinders for the first time, and if it’s any indicator of future releases, then The Ocean still have a lot to say about the future of progressive metal.

2. Ulcerate – Vermis

There may not be a more
convincingly apocalyptic band than Ulcerate. Death metal groups constantly
promote themselves as “brutal” or “heavy” or “crushing,” but this New Zealand
trio has mastered the art of soul-withering songwriting by honing its craft on
a deeper level. Fitting together layers of dissonance in a way that makes sense
is a difficult task, since it often goes against established musical paradigms,
but it’s what Ulcerate thrives on. Due to the fact that every line onVermisbuilds off this foundation, the album is
fundamentally saturated with intense emotions of utter dread and bitterness
towards a crumbling world. Welcome to Ulcerate’s perfect musical hell.

With regards to its back
catalogue, Ulcerate hasn’t really changed the game plan so much as ironed out
the kinks and come away with its most cohesive album to date.Vermisavoids the overwhelming nature ofEverything is Fire, generally considered the band’s magnum opus,
while still having more than enough horsepower to satisfy the most brutal death
metal mongers. If they’re going to carve out a real legacy, then Hoggard,
Kelland, and Saint-Merat will inevitably have to change things up as all the
greats do. For now, however, Ulcerate has something special going and is
running away from the pack with their third phenomenal effort in a row. We may
all be only dust in the wind, but for just under an hour, Ulcerate are giving
us something with which to rejoice in that wondrous desolation.

3. Leprous – Coal

Yes, Leprous is still
known for being “Ihsahn’s backing band.” But if it keeps this up, that’s going
to change in a hurry. With its fourth album, the Norwegian quintet has created
something truly its own, perhaps comparable to acts like Opeth and Enslaved,
but full of fresh intensity. There are moments that challenge you to wrap your
head around exactly what’s going on, and equally numerous times that you’ll be
swept away by anthemic choruses. Opener “Foe” revolves around a 7/4 time
signature as the instruments run circles around each other and refuse to settle
into a groove; the second half of “Chronic,” however, does the heavy lifting
for you as singer Einar Soldberg intones, “Stars, they lie where we can’t keep
them...” over and over, sharp guitar lines building behind him, the sound
growing in intensity despite an ever-slowing tempo. Many of the songs contain a
balance of styles as the band toys with the line between being soothing and
stimulating.

Coalaptly straddles two musical worlds of extremity and accessibility.
Rather than scaring away parents with shrieked onslaughts, Leprous prefer to
make listeners earn their reward with a record that refuses to be unlocked
quickly. Despite complex writing and untamed song structures,Coalhas a knack for inviting successive listens
without becoming overbearing. That inspiration the band aimed for is definitely
on display here, as some ingenious moments throughoutCoal’s fifty-five minutes unravel with a bit of
determination. Leprous is no longer someone’s sidekick. With its fourth album,
the band has shown not only talent and vision, but the patience to let those
qualities bring it to the fore of progressive metal where Leprous is proving it
belongs.

4. Rorcal – Vilagvege

"You have no idea what to expect" – it’s the sort
of line a band throws on packaging to dare you to buy its album. Nine times out
of ten, the ploy works (and it’s exactly that, a ploy), but it’s that other ten
percent in which the real meat of modern metal lies. That's where Rorcal is
clawing its way up from, and for a beast like Rorcal, every road from
here on is the one not taken. The band’s third full-length, Világvége,
dropped in February and rattled even more cages than its predecessor. Comprised
of eight movements, it married the head-banging riffs of Rorcal’s early work to
the ominous doom metal of the band’s second album Heliogabolus for a more immediately engaging, but no less
powerful, experience.

Introductory combo “I” and “D” (part of a mangled lineup of
Roman numeral titles) build slowly and steadily with pounding chords and sparse
drumming, but all bets are off from there. Thunderous drumming and breakneck
riffs make Világvége an unrelenting
experience; its constantly shifting distorted harmonics at times bring to mind
the heaviest moments of Wolves in the Throne Room, or even the blast-furnace-esque
“Serpents” from Cave In’s post-hardcore thumper White Silence. Rorcal is becoming essential listening for those who
inhabit the macabre side of heavy metal – and with the band’s whole catalogue
available for free on their website, you now have every reason to leap into
that tantalizing black chasm.

5. Sannhet – Known Flood

Hailing from Brooklyn,
NY, Sannhet has managed to brew up a following the hard way. As in business,
initial investment pays dividends, and the post-black metal trio has parlayed
an intense touring schedule and wicked live show into a growing fan base in
only a few years. Sannhet’s debut album,Known Flood,
distills all of this work into a 45-minute barrage that falls somewhere between
early Isis and U.S. Black Metal acts like Krallice (whose guitarist Colin
Marston recorded the album).Known Floodis about as spot-on as any title could be: the songs here ebb and flow
from devastating metallic bursts to long periods of ambience and
percussion-driven interludes. Early cut “Invisible Wounds” begins with a
bizarre, spacey Sprechstimme piece that sounds like an incantation sung through
a box fan, then transitions suddenly into pounding tom-toms and guitar
distortion, in a fitting encapsulation of the album’s sound.

Despite being a
generally instrumental act, Sannhet fills the space normally occupied by vocals
admirably with impressionistic soundscapes. Set between a pair of seven-minute
behemoths, “Haunches” is a claustrophobic outburst that decompresses around the
three-minute mark into what sounds like an answering machine recording of a
train going through a windy mountain passage. Therein lies the beauty ofKnown Flood– Sannhet gives little concrete to hold onto,
but just enough for your imagination to complete the puzzle. Perhaps there’s
nothing particularly revelatory about matingBlack CascadetoF♯ A♯ ∞, but Sannhet has come up with a consistently
engaging album inKnown Flood.
Those who worship Neurosis and lament the incest of USBM will have a ball with
Sannhet, and really,Known Floodought to be of interest to anyone who enjoys both the darkly intense and
avant-garde.

6. Intronaut – Habitual Levitations

Just when you think Intronaut can’t twist and grow any more, they knock down another musical wall and continue on their way. These nigh-unclassifiable Californians have changed the game with every release – from their Meshuggah-slaying debut Void to stoner-jazz tour-de-force Valley of Smoke, every album has been different from the last and enjoyable for new reasons. So what is one to expect from a band that consistently defies expectation? The only sure thing about Habitual Levitations was that it would be another crazy intellectual and emotional trip (and perhaps that, as photos of the band’s cannabis-littered notes showed, a fair amount of mind-altering substances were involved in its writing). Pre-release single “Milk Leg” hinted at a strong emphasis on rhythm and atmosphere and a continuation away from pounding metallic chords, yet before fans could mourn the loss of Intronaut’s heavy side, “The Welding” brought a fresh intensity, layering meticulous vocal harmonies over tightly-woven guitar lines en route to a charging climax.

Though Sacha Dunable and company have largely dropped harsh vocals for harmonized singing in the footsteps of Mastodon and Baroness, Habitual Levitations isn’t aiming to be so much accessible as universal. The subtly changing textures of “The Way Down” may be reminiscent of latter-day Isis – think “Stone to Wake A Serpent” – but by the end of the song, you’re left with a taste closer to John Coltrane’s transcendent improvisations than the raging of Godflesh. While Cynic and Opeth have fans grumbling about their lighter new directions, it’s hard to lament the way that Intronaut are going about their business. Music lovers no longer have an excuse to disregard metal as a whole for being too “angry” or “mindless”; Intronaut have been knocking on the door for years, and with Habitual Levitations they just might blow the roof off popular notions of what metal is capable of.

7. Secrets of the Sky – To Sail Black Waters

Hovering somewhere
between My Dying Bride’s tortured overtures and Agalloch’s mellifluous black
metal,To Sail Black Watersmoves like a powerful beast – never at more than a crawl, but with
tremendous momentum and poise. Though most ofTo Sailsits in largo-adagio tempos, Secrets’ two-part riffs
play with the timing between percussion and guitar leads to draw the music
forward. The main riff of “Winter” returns after a creepy whispered interlude
(“I accept your gift great father / Speak to me deep in my sleep / For I shall
carry out thine will / Every (every) whisper…”) to reestablish the song’s
lurching groove, accompanied at various times by swirling lead guitar and
layered howling. Secrets of the Sky isn’t doing anything revolutionary yet, but
based on the early returns that’s probably for the best – it’s nice to hear a
band focused on getting the finer points of its craft right instead of trying
to invent a new one.

As a whole, the
songwriting onTo Sail Black Watersis well-balanced and understated in the way that made bands like
Neurosis legends. While that may be setting an awfully high bar, Secrets of the
Sky already has a strong foundation and an album that gets better with each
listen. Though the band cites The Ocean, Opeth, Isis, and Agalloch as
inspirations, those names probably wouldn’t come to mind on first listen; they
are, however, good comparables in that large-scale composition skills and
dynamics control have been paramount to their success.To Sail Black Watersis among the more eminently listenable doom/sludge metal efforts of the
year, and makes it easy to forget that Secrets of the Sky is only in its third
year as a band.

8. Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony

Few bands have exemplified
the maxim “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” better than Kalmah. Since 1998,
Finland’s answer to In Flames and At the Gates has been machining high-octane
death metal with commendable consistency, with a slight turn towards thrash in
the middle of its discography. While itsswamp-this, swamp-thatM.O. may confuse some new listeners, it’s at least nice to see someone
writing about something they’re passionate about. In the end, it’s Kalmah’s
relentless melodic attack that justifies its thematic shenanigans.Swamphony’s machine-gun drumming and dazzling twin guitar
lines are even more intense than those on12 Gauge, as
lead guitarist Antti sounds hell-bent on proving he still has the warp speed
chops he showed on “Hades” and “Principle Hero.”

Kalmahmeans “to the grave,” and the band lives up to its moniker by holding
nothing back onSeventh Swamphony. In
fact, there are several moments throughout the album that are bound to raise
eyebrows among even long-time fans. Following hot on the heels of the
blistering title track, “Deadfall” brings a new element to the band’s sound as
a full symphonic backing introduces the song’s bridge. The penultimate song of
the album, “Black Marten’s Trace,” breaks things up by opening with an ethereal
keyboard solo that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Nightwish album, and then
proceeds to lay down some of most vicious riffs in Kalmah’s recent discography.
Kalmah may never be accused of being the most visionary metal act, but the band
deserves credit for its approach to a genre largely content to recycle itself. From
its thunderous opening riff to the triumphant strut of closer “The Trapper,”
Seventh Swamphonyis a solid and occasionally surprising affair
that’s worth a long look from fans of modern death and thrash metal. If12 Gaugeshowed that Kalmah could still run with the
pack, thenSeventh Swamphonyfinally has the band leading it.

9. Terra Tenebrosa – The Purging

There’s something about
three dudes in black capes and demon masks that just never gets old. It really
should, but it doesn’t as long as they've got the music to back it up. In stark
contrast to Swedish compatriot Ghost’s tongue-in-cheek doctrine, Terra
Tenebrosa legitimately gives the creeps with its genre-defying attack and
macabre imagery. The trio came together in 2009 from the ashes of post-hardcore
outfit Breach and delivered a promising debut, but it’s on their sophomore
effort that they’ve laid claim to territory all their own. Full of distorted
chants and screams, paranoia-inducing machine noises, and all sorts of other
bizarre sounds,The Purgingis a tour de force in unsettling songcraft.

Terra Tenebrosa’s
organization of the whole exercise (see related: exorcise) is key. “The Redeeming Teratoma” opens with two
minutes of fuzzy synthesizer surrounded by horror-movie soundtrack noises, then
decompresses into the shifting polyrhythms of “The Compression Chamber” to
jump-start the album. On the other end, “Disintegration” restores order after
some creepy instrumental chicanery with a more straightforward structure,
rising from a hollowed-out bridge to a huge climax of layered guitar harmonies
and vocals that blend seamlessly into howling wind. Songs fade in and out,
pummeling riffs come and go, and the whole affair wraps up in a tidy 47 minutes
without once becoming stale. Crafting an album likeThe Purgingis a tricky affair, but Terra Tenebrosa weaves
its incendiary compositions to maximum effect and makes sure that no element
outstays its welcome. That, perhaps more than anything, is what leads to the
success ofThe Purging, an
album that implies that not only is the well is still plenty deep, but the best
may be yet to come.

10. Scarred – Gaia/Medea

The inherent risk in
sticking close to your influences is that no matter what you create, fans will
compare you to multiple bands that that have done it before, and done it
better. Scarred lists Meshuggah, Gojira, and Machine Head as prime influences
on its death/thrash hybrid sound, but anyone who is likely to stumble across
the group’s second albumGaia/Medeacould probably figure that out within about ten seconds of the opening
song’s first riff. It just so happens that Scarred is a rare example of that
band that not only does its antecedents justice, but often outclasses their
corresponding latest efforts. Fans ofL’enfant Sauvagemay cry foul andUnto the Locust’s
proponents may beat their chest, butGaia/Medeais a shot across the bow of the genre giants that puts Scarred at the
foot of the tech-death podium.

Notable
throughoutGaia/Medeais its old-school production, which focuses on
creating a unified, organic feel rather than the sharp and mechanical sound
typical of the genre. Despite this, individual lines remain crisp – “The Knot”
opens and closes with a Scale the Summit-esque guitar line that sounds like
it’s echoing around you in a huge stadium, while “Cinder” pitches and rolls on
a sea of juxtaposing guitar and bass riffs.From its apocalyptic opening broadcast,Gaia/Medeais
an impressively cohesive effort that sees Scarred re-envisioning rather than
recycling the music that the album is patterned after. If you foundKolosssolid
but same-y and wish more bands didn’t suck at trying to replicateVulgar
Display of Power, then you may just love what Scarred has come up with onGaia/Medea.